The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-22

CN CI lIC aOCCs vi bCNN Nl lit luID : .
he Q, es, acts and thinks. according
to the popular notion, solely for the
furtherance Of some sinister purpose.
He moves in an atmosphere of
odium. He is considered a comb
nation Of decent, lying, and villlanv,
and incapable of a noble feeling or
an unselfsh act. OF course there
are exceptions, but this notion Of the
lawyer certainly has In some sec
tions at least, very strong hold on
tie popular mind.
Now this is wrong. The lawyer
has in all ages and nations played
an important part in the drama of
life. In the case Of the ancient
Spartans the work Of the lawyer
may be seen. Lycurgus, the great
laW-giver and eXpounder, fashioned
and developed tue whole fabric OF
Spartan society. Finding q few
tribes disaffe"te harbarous, and
lawless, lie united them In COM
pact so strong, ruled them with laws
50 just, and trained them with pres
cepts so wise, that from the crude
and dIscOrdant elements at his dis
pO5al, he founded and built govern
ment destined for long years to
brave the mOmeEtous crises of the
times, and t. startle the world with
It's military ren6wp. Sparta's laws
aud Spa"tafs va!Or made her ore of
5he proudest nations of antiquity.
But when no longer she enjoyei or
needed the wise COdnsel3 0fLycur4uS
her glory faded and her POWER col~
'lapsed. What Lvcurgus did for
Sparta Solnn ojl tor Athens, Charlie
magne for Frau,e, Peter for Russia,
AMI Alfred for England. In fact,
When we look back over the histor,
Of nations ard see their greatness
and sp!endor and the achievements
Of their heroes. we can discover that
as basis for their grand deeds they
have possessed and needed some
KIND Of code written or unwritten
which. serving as a foundation for
social and political compactS, st the
same time gave tone to their cililiZa-
ton and stimulated them IN their
onward march.
Now. the establishment, the reg
ulation, and the enforcement of
this code lay within the Legitimate
province of the lawyer. Twas his
to make laws for his people, to lead
them from a state OF semi-lawless-
ness TO a right conception of right
and TO instil Slowly but surely into
the popular heart proper regard
for the great principles of rectitude
and order. Look at the great Black
stone of England. HIS work is per
fecting and sYstematIzing the laws
OF England in no small degree con-
tributed to the formation of the
English character, the moulding
and crystallizing of English thought,
and the ablsbmenG of high
standard of action in England. And
in our own country see what the
lawyers have done A mere cur
sorry review Of our history will reveal
The fact that our cOuntrv's LAWYERS
have not only framed her constitu-
ton, simpliied and dignified her
laws, and given her character il,
Jurisprudence never surpassed in
any nation, bat that they have also
been, n a measure at least. the ex-
ponents of our national character,
the guardians of our society. Yea
even the pioneers in the great work
of cOntriving and perfecting our
grand civilization. Snatch from
American hl~ tory what tbe deYoted
disciples Of Blackstone have :. Ought
and sail aud done, AMI }ou all r.
move from the corunet hica grades
Co!umhia'S !row some Of It's bright
ct @omS Bit out from oQn poi5,.-
cal tiFmam-u.. pendent a"d 4,o-
rgoNs - It il. th~ Ives of those w ,
axe Bon. hnm.1" at the SIR Ne of
The law, aud rou will sadly dim the
Iu5tre Of our nations glory.
That some lawyers are mean and
contemplate is true. Sometimes
forg ettnl of every principle of truth
and Justice, they exert all thei'
talents t. screen the guilty from the
laws stern penalties. Sometimes
/ theY lie, cheat. and deceive until
lavirg forfeited every claim to re-
! COgnitiOn at the hands Of good peO>
/ lie, they deserve only their con-
tempt. Son etimes leaving the bigl
plane on which they should labor
they condeScend 10 play the unman
! l.. ,,C. l. i L,